Te Deum
Thee, O God, We Praise
The Church's great hymn of thanksgiving and praise, sung on Sundays and feasts and at every solemn act of thanks to God.
Te Deum laudamus: te Dominum confitemur.
Te aeternum Patrem omnis terra veneratur.
Tibi omnes angeli, tibi caeli et universae potestates:
tibi cherubim et seraphim incessabili voce proclamant:
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt caeli et terra maiestatis gloriae tuae.
Te gloriosus Apostolorum chorus,
te prophetarum laudabilis numerus,
te martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus.
Te per orbem terrarum sancta confitetur Ecclesia,
Patrem immensae maiestatis;
venerandum tuum verum et unicum Filium;
Sanctum quoque Paraclitum Spiritum.
Tu Rex gloriae, Christe.
Tu Patris sempiternus es Filius.
Tu, ad liberandum suscepturus hominem, non horruisti Virginis uterum.
Tu, devicto mortis aculeo, aperuisti credentibus regna caelorum.
Tu ad dexteram Dei sedes, in gloria Patris.
Iudex crederis esse venturus.
Te ergo quaesumus, tuis famulis subveni, quos pretioso sanguine redemisti.
Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis in gloria numerari.
Salvum fac populum tuum, Domine, et benedic hereditati tuae.
Et rege eos, et extolle illos usque in aeternum.
Per singulos dies benedicimus te;
et laudamus nomen tuum in saeculum, et in saeculum saeculi.
Dignare, Domine, die isto sine peccato nos custodire.
Miserere nostri, Domine, miserere nostri.
Fiat misericordia tua, Domine, super nos, quemadmodum speravimus in te.
In te, Domine, speravi: non confundar in aeternum.
We praise thee, O God: we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlasting.
To thee all Angels cry aloud, the Heavens and all the Powers therein.
To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry:
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth;
Heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory.
The glorious company of the Apostles praise thee.
The goodly fellowship of the Prophets praise thee.
The white-robed army of Martyrs praise thee.
The holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee:
the Father, of an infinite majesty;
thine adorable, true, and only Son;
also the Holy Ghost, the Comforter.
Thou art the King of glory, O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man, thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God, in the glory of the Father.
We believe that thou shalt come to be our Judge.
We therefore pray thee, help thy servants, whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.
Make them to be numbered with thy Saints, in glory everlasting.
O Lord, save thy people, and bless thine heritage.
Govern them, and lift them up for ever.
Day by day we magnify thee;
and we worship thy name ever, world without end.
Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin.
O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.
O Lord, let thy mercy be upon us, as our trust is in thee.
O Lord, in thee have I trusted: let me never be confounded.
Translation source: fisheaters.com/prayers.html
About this prayer
The Te Deum, "Thee, O God, we praise," is the Church's supreme hymn of thanksgiving, an ancient prose chant of uncertain authorship dating to the fourth century. A beautiful legend tells that Saint Ambrose and Saint Augustine sang it by turns, each improvising a verse, on the night Augustine was baptised, and for long ages it was called the Hymn of Saints Ambrose and Augustine; scholars now ascribe it more probably to Nicetas of Remesiana.
It rises in three movements: the praise of the Father by all creation, the angels, and the Church; the confession of Christ, the King of glory, who did not abhor the Virgin's womb and opened heaven to believers; and a string of humble petitions drawn from the psalms, that God may save His people and keep them this day without sin. The Church sings it at the end of Matins on Sundays and feasts, and intones it in thanksgiving for every great mercy: at the election of a pope, the consecration of a bishop, the close of a council, and the giving of thanks at the end of the year.